00:02Blistering speeds. Teamwork under pressure. And tightly choreographed tricks.
00:13Australia's best skippers putting their skills to the test in Darwin at the national championships.
00:18I get amazed. We've broken, I believe unofficially, over 25 records here at this nationals.
00:23I don't know how they keep getting faster, but they just continue to get faster and faster.
00:27A standout at this year's competition, 12-year-old Harry from Victoria,
00:32now bound for worlds in Norway after stunning the judges with his speed,
00:36hitting just shy of 900 skips in 180 seconds.
00:41My brother did boxing and I used to skip out the back because I was just bored.
00:46So that's what I did for fun.
00:48I don't think he realised how great he is until he got here and the crowd just went wild.
00:52Harry's talent's also catching the attention of a former world record holder,
00:57Jake Eve.
00:58He's only been skipping for like, yeah, 11 months I think.
01:00So Luke and I, who are quite the veterans of the sport,
01:03we used to be the only boys once upon a time.
01:05And yeah, we both clocked him as the next up and coming.
01:08It's pretty hard work keeping up with the teenagers in this sport.
01:12But Skipping Australia says that a lot of the recent growth has been driven by more older,
01:17mature athletes getting involved.
01:19We have absolutely got a growing amount of what I will call 30-plus jump ropers,
01:25but through to our oldest that's up there near the six zeros,
01:28and they are breaking records.
01:30These people are fast.
01:31All serious skippers are waiting anxiously to see if the sport will secure a place
01:36at the Brisbane Olympics in 2032, hoping that breakdancing's loss might be jump rope's gain.
01:43That's the ultimate, is for every one of these athletes, and Australia will fare well on that podium.
01:48Yeah, big question mark.
01:50Look, I think we find out, I've heard, rumour has it, end of next year.
01:55And so I think my generation of skippers, we've really been the driving force.
01:59So I'll be 40, so unfortunately it probably won't be for me.
02:03I have said though I will go out and spin a double dutch speed.
02:06Hope for Australian jump rope gold on the biggest stage in the world.
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